Utawarerumono

Utawarerumono is set in feudal Japan where the “humans” have tails and animal-like ears. Hakuro seems to be the only normal human. He is constantly haunted by images of a raging beast, and always finds himself at the center of conflict. The story is full of strong enemies and big battles, with excellent battle scenes. The action is fast-paced and each battle has it’s own nuances which Hakuro must used his wisdom and cunning to overcome the enemy. The story also has a softer side with Elalu and Amaru, his adopted family. Elalu seems to think of Hakuro as a love interest, but Hakuro calls her his little sister. Amaru calls Hakuro daddy. All the greatest warriors find themselves strangely driven to support Hakuro. What is the mystery this man holds behind that mask?

Utawarerumono is a story that begins in a small village where a mysterious man awakens.  He does not remember who he is or where he is, but he has a strange mask on his face that he cannot remove.  He was found and healed by a woman named Lady Tuskaru, a famous healer, and the grandmother of Elalu and Amaru.  He quickly is adopted into their family, and soon discovers that the village they live in is ruled by an oppressive feudal lord.  Hakuro, as Lady Tuskaru names him, stands up against the sound of the lord to defend Elalu.  This boy destroys a shrine, which enrages the goddess of the forest, Mutikapa.  The goddess is a massive white tiger than cannot be harmed.  She first attacks and destroys a nearby village, killing all of them, and then comes to Tuskaru’s village.  Hakuro cannot stand to see the village suffer as the people huddle in their homes and wait to die, so he stands up to Mutikapa.  Just as she is about to kill him, it begins to rain and she runs off.

Hakuro discovers that water makes the goddess vulnerable, and he convinces the village to stand against her.  Tuskaru gives Hakuro a metal fan that she says has protective powers.  His genius leads the goddess into a trap where Mutikapa falls into a pit of water, and then the villagers stab and kill her.  Amaru, having sympathy for the goddess, saves her cub and calls him Mukkuru.  The cub takes on Amaru as it’s surrogate mother.

Tuskaru sneaks away in the middle of the night and Elalu sends Hakuro after her, worried about her grandmother.  Hakuro learns that Tuskaru sneaks off to see a sick little girl with a fierce warrior brother named Oboro.  Two skilled archers, Dori and Dora, help protect Oboro’s little sister Yuzaha, who is blind and sick. Oboro, Dori, and Dora steal back food from the feudal lord for Tuskaru’s village, which enrages the feudal lord and his son.  They arrive in the village and Tuskaru stands up to them.  The Lord orders her to be arrested and Amaru throws a rock, hitting the lord in the head.  A soldier goes to kill Amaru, but Tuskaru dives in to save her and takes the blow.  The lord is run out of town as the towns people become immediately enraged.  Lady Tuskaru, in her dying breath, asks Hakuro to protect her grand daughters.  After she passes, Hakuro now finds himself the leader of the village, and Oboro declares his loyalty to Hakuro.

Caught in passion, Hakuro leads the village in a revolt against the feudal Lord, who is the younger brother of the emperor of their prefecture.  Hakuro kills the Lord, which incites the anger of the Emperor.  Hakuro convinces other villages to gather with him and amasses a large army, while the Emperor sends his troops to wipe out villages who have not yet taken a stance.  Through this, the Emperor drives the rest of the country into revolt, and eventually is defeated.  Hakuro now finds himself the Emperor of what is now called Tuskaru.

It is not long before Emperor Niwei, a brutal man, takes advantage of the new, weak country and declares that he is Emperor over Tuskaru.  Hakuro’s troubles are only just beginning.